Trouble at SEGA of America

SEGA of America has had trouble coming up with new hits as of late. With successful franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Crazy Taxi, and Virtua Fighter, Sega made a big name for itself. People expect greatness to come from the company that brought us some of the most amazing consoles like the Sega Genesis and Dreamcast.

But sadly that hasn’t been the case lately for our friends at SEGA..

SEGA hasn’t made a console in years and they have fallen off the map in terms of great games, especially when comparing them to their greatest hits like the aforementioned Sonic series. Unfortunately, the price of not having major blockbuster hits in the last couple of years is dragging down SEGA. This week SEGA confirmed that a number of their employees are being laid-off. A SEGA spokeswoman provided GamesBeat with this statement:

"As the gaming industry continues to evolve, companies must adapt and adjust in order to compete and succeed in an ever-changing environment. As a result of this, Sega of America has recently undergone a restructure that will enable the company to focus efficiently on developing new and existing content across digital platforms as well as continuing to focus on key brands for packaged goods."

It’s the economy.

I’m sure the struggling economy also had something to do with the layoffs because even companies like Sony Online Entertainment, who are responsible for games like PlanetSide 2 and Everquest, have recently made cuts to their staffing personnel. I just hope that when the economy gets back on track SEGA will continue to make great games and that we will see something entirely new from the developer. And also help these people get their jobs back!

On a side note, SEGA is releasing Sonic Lost World on October 22nd, so it’s not all bad news! Tell me what you think about SEGA laying off some of their employees. And what about SEGA’s current game selection, are you looking forward to any games? Do you agree that SEGA could use a new successful game series?

I've been noticing a pattern with statements made by the gaming industry...in terms of lay offs. They always say something along the lines of because of the evolving gaming industry we need to restructure...so this is why we are laying off people...
Anyway it is sad that it has come to this. I remember playing Sonic as a kid on the PC. I actually did get a sonic game on the IPad..which I just started playing here and there.

Yeah, "evolving gaming industry" could totally be something to do with the new technology coming out. I think we'll start to see smaller development teams as the years go by because it just won't take as many people to produce the same amount of content.
The first Sonic game I played was on the SEGA Game Gear! I loved it!